


In Which Jesper Finds Dinosaur Bones

by zemenipearls (kaiipaii)



Series: Zemeni Extended Universe [2]
Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Childhood, Fahey Family, Family, Family Feels, Ficlet, Gen, Innocent, Little Jesper Fahey, Vignette, jesper centric, novyi zem, zemeni
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 07:31:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18566773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaiipaii/pseuds/zemenipearls
Summary: Six-year-old Jesper discovers dinosaur bones





	In Which Jesper Finds Dinosaur Bones

Jesper was a curious child. He loved to explore the fields, while Colm was tending to the crops. He said hi to all the workers, grinning whenever they gave him a treat. One day he wandered a little too far, chewing on a cold treat his mom made. Out by the crags, the fields ended and gave way to a sudden drop into the ocean. His hair was long, twisted and lathered with shea by his mother, and his play clothes were already dirty from the long trek. 

He grabbed seeds out of his pocket, fingers stained orange from the flowers he took them out of. There was a big storm coming and he wanted to try making super extra strong plants. He wasn't allowed to practice writing in the pastures anymore, even though his mum wrote his name there to make him smile.

Jes gleefully tore into the earth with fingers, dark crescent moons forming under his nail beds. At six, he had no fear of the gray storm clouds rolling in. But when he dug, he eventually hit something smooth and white. He brushed at it, using both hands to clear as much off as possible.

He had seen bones before - animals died. But nothing like this. It was a skull the size of his body, with eye holes as bit as his hands. It looked like the sketches of dragon heads. He saw them in books his mum brought back from the markets, where people across the sea would trade wares.

He dropped the seeds and tore back to the farmhouse, with all the energy in his six year old body. Thunder rolled behind him until fat raindrops rolled down his face. Wild and free, he found his way back home and was immediately swept into the arms of his mother.

“We were worried! Did you hear us calling?” 

“No! I was out by - phbbbbbt,” he stuck out his tongue as Aditi sucked her teeth and dried his face with her scarf. “By the crags!” he swiped at the scarf, whining as she stuck it behind his ears and on his neck, drying aggressively. “And I saw this thing and it looked like a big dragon skull and - mumMYYYYYYY!” he moaned. She chuckled, wrapping him tight in a blanket sign he couldn't move, his brown head peeking out from the green Kaelish blanket. “We have dragon bones out by the crags! You have to see!”

“What are ye talking about lad?” asked Colm, who was lighting lanterns and candles around the house, and a crack of thunder rolled above them. He was soaked as well from putting the horses away. “No such thing as dragons here.”

“I swear!”

“Oh we know you swear,” Colm chuckled. “Ye know how long it took for your mother to get rid of that?”

Jesper tried to stomp his foot in frustration but his mom picked him up, placing kisses on his face. “We have to go back out there so I can show you!”

To his frustration, his parents laughed. Aditi rubbed her nose against his. “I believe you, handsome.” she pointed out to the window, where rainy season was coming down in full force. “But you are so precious and it is dangerous by the crags when it rains. We will wait for it to be done. Then we will go look.”

Jes smiled, and they danced into the family area where tea and scones were waiting. He happily munched between his parents as they talked amongst each other. They discussed things that made no sense in his world. But he knew it was right because they were both there holding him. 

The rain didn't let up for days. And the moment the ground hardened enough, they went out to the crags, Colm carrying a picnic. But all the evidence was gone and no matter how much Jesper dug random holes, he couldn't find the dragon bones. He wailed until his parents reassured him it was okay.

He never did find the dragon bones again, and eventually it faded into other memories of his childhood. But whenever he walked along the majestic cliffs, he looked for stray patches of jurda growing.


End file.
